[SunDog]

Hi,

After many years service the wind readout on my Davis VP1 keeps giving very erratic wind reading...0-56-87 mph then 0. Has anyone got a fix for this problem.

 

Thank you.

[Uskys]

I've had many such problems with the vp- specifically the erronious wind readings co-incide with very heavy rain and heavy hail/snow. But it could also be corrosion on the anemometer itself. On the versions of the VP (1) I have the quality of the steel is not rust resistant, on either the little bar on the rain gauge bucket that trips the reed switch and on the stem of the anemometer that does the same. Just this week due to rusting on the bucket guage spindle I recorded 327mm of rain in one day with a top rate of 3000mm/hr.
.
Wireless interferance shouldn't be discounted.

[SunDog]

I see, I'm not alone with this then. I'll take it down and get the wd40 out.

 Thanks for your reply.

[Sam Jowett]

Need to be wary of contact corrosion if it's cabled too. Mine has started dropping to zero occasionally lately, so I need to recrimp new plugs and use a new RJ11 adapter for the extension. It's lasted about 3 years or so since I last had the problem thanks to pumping it full of silicone sealant on a low dew point day...

[johnd]

Quote

SunDog - 16/7/2011 15:45
After many years service the wind readout on my Davis VP1 keeps giving very erratic wind reading...0-56-87 mph then 0. Has anyone got a fix for this problem.

Chances are - especially if you can rule out cable damage or water seeping into any imperfect cable joints - that this is the anemometer reed switch that's become faulty (cracked or microporous glass envelope) with the contacts bouncing and then sticking. Sadly the service centre seemed to have lost the skills of doing switch replacements and the only option nowadays is a new anemometer. Good luck if you can fix the problem without needing a new one, but typically this would be an internal anemometer problem.

[SunDog]

Mmmmmm, thanks for your input guys, wd40 worked until it rained, then back to 97-63-0-0 all over the place. I will check cables and go from there.

Thanks again,

Jim.